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Inheritance Cycle
Inheritance is a trilogy of high-fantasy novels by homeschooled author Christopher Paolini. The first book in the trilogy, ''Eragon'', was originally self-published by Paolini International LLC, the Paolini family's publishing business; later it was picked up by Knopf, and went on to become a New York Times bestseller, as did its sequel, Eldest. The third book in the trilogy, as yet unnamed, is forthcoming. Fox 2000, a division of 20th Century Fox, purchased film rights to the trilogy, and a film version of Eragon, directed by Stefen Fangmeier, was released on December 15, 2006. Inheritance is set in the fictional world of Alagaësia, which closely resembles Viking-era Scandinavia. The trilogy follows the exploits of Eragon, a teenage orphan who becomes the first of a new order of Dragon Riders. Eragon and his dragon Saphira spearhead the attempt to defeat Galbatorix, the evil king of Alagaësia, who wickedly hunted down, and killed, the previous generation of Dragon Riders with help from his evil Rider allies, the Forsworn. , featuring the main characters]] Inheritance has garnered much attention due to the fact that Paolini was only fifteen when he began writing the first book, Eragon. Inheritance has also drawn a great deal of criticism from those who feel the nature of the books is derivative of other well known works fantasy and science fiction, such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Background Christopher Paolini began writing Eragon after graduating from high school at the age of fifteen. Originally intended to be a screenplay, the work instead evolved into a full-fledged novel of nearly five hundred pages. It was originally published by his parents' publishing company, Paolini International LLC, in 2002. Paolini traveled to schools, libraries, and bookstores to promote Eragon - in one case, arm-wrestling a potential buyer to get him to read itMacDonald, Jay. "Fantastic Voyage." Book Page September 2005: 5. - but the novel's popularity did not take off until it was discovered by author Carl Hiaasen, who recommended it to Knopf. Paolini signed a three-book deal with Knopf, and Eldest, the second book in the trilogy, appeared in 2005. Besides the conventional formats, with cover art by John Jude Palencar, Eragon and Eldest have also been released in audiobook and ebook formats. Book III is scheduled for release sometime in 2008. Premise Eragon, a 15-year-old farmer boy, finds a dragon egg while out hunting. When the dragon hatches for him, he takes on the responsibilities of the Dragon Riders and sets out on a quest to avenge his uncle's death and, eventually, to bring defeat to the evil tyrant who rules Alagaësia. Books ''Eragon The first edition of ''Eragon was self-published by Christopher Paolini's family, and was released in 2002. The second edition, published by Knopf, appeared in 2003. The paperback edition was released in 2005. ''Eldest ''Eldest was released as a hardcover edition in August 2005. A Limited Edition, featuring extras such as a brief history of Alagaësia, a double-sided poster featuring Brom's ring & Glaedr (Who was featured on Eldest's Japanese volume 2 cover), and a sneak peek of Book III. was released in September 2006. A paperback edition was also released in the same month. ''Book III The third volume is, as yet, untitled, though it is rumored by many fans to be named ''Empire, in keeping with the titles of the other books in the trilogy: both have six letters and begin with the letter 'e'. It is due for September 23, 2008. ''Book IV No information about this book is avaiable for now, except that it will be the last book in the series. Important characters * 'Eragon: the main protagonist; a Dragon Rider * '''Roran: Eragon's cousin * Saphira: Eragon's dragon and best friend * Brom: storyteller of Carvahall and former Dragon Rider; Eragon's mentor * Murtagh: the son of Morzan, who was a Forsworn (betrayer of the Dragon Riders); becomes good friends with Eragon and travels with him to the Varden's hideout * Arya: an elf, the guardian of Saphira's egg; is saved by Eragon from the clutches of the Galbatorix and Durza * Galbatorix: evil king of Alagaësia * Durza: a Shade in the service of Galbatorix *'Orik':nephew of dwarf king Hrothgar,and is also a freind of Eragon Critical reaction Inheritance became a commercial success, with the first two books topping several different bestselling charts.http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375826696 Eldest was a 2006 Quill Award winnerhttp://www.thequills.org/2006.html, as a well as a winner of the 2006 Book Sense Book of the Year award.http://www.bookweb.org/news/awards/3433.html Both Inheritance books, however, have received criticism for formulaic plot, stereotyped characters, and similarities to other well-known works of fantasy and science fiction. Some of the main criticisms are: *The Ancient Language closely resembles that of Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea books *The archaic language ("He knew not", "they were but a few", use of the word "aye") is needless and awkward *Brom is too similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars, or Gandalf of Lord of the Rings *The plot twists - in particular the revelation at the end of Eldest - are stale and easily foreseen *The writing style tells rather than shows http://www.worldmag.com/articles/11024 *Lack of originality Movies A feature film version of Eragon was released on December 15th, 2006. It met with mostly negative reviews, and garnered a mediocre 15% approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eragon/. The adaptation took many liberties with the book's storyline; see differences between book and movie. No plans for a film version of Eldest have been announced. See also *Christopher Paolini *''Eragon'' *''Eldest'' *''Book 3'' *''Book 4'' *''Eragon'' movie References * Eragon, 2nd edition, 2003. Christopher Paolini. * Eldest, 1st edition, 2005. Christopher Paolini. * Shurtugal.com - Christopher Paolini Notes External links *Alagaesia.com, the official site Category:Inheritance books Category:Inheritance trilogy es:Trilogía El Legado nl:Erfgoed Trilogie